Door



\ Nov. 6 1923.

W. H. VSS

DOOR

Filed Sept. 13 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Paieneel Nora 1923 DOOR.

Applicaton fi1ed September 13, 1920. Se1a1 1To. 400,753.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. Voss of Davenport, owa, have invented certain new and useful Improvemens in Doors, of which fhe followingis a specification.

My invention relates to washing machine doors, and more particularly zo a door o 'uhe kind which Will rednce to a minimum the amount of danger incidnc to the use of an oscilla-ing ulo washing machine, this applicaion being a continuazion in part of my prior application Seral No. 294,235, in

wlnch was disclosed and claimed the generic idea of a swnging door used with an oscillating tnb washing machine to prevent injury zo the hands of a person opera'ning the machine.

Among the objects of my invention are the following: T0 provide means in conneclion with an oscillating tub to prevent in jury to a persen by reason of a portion o nis body getting canght between the tnb and the enclosing walls; to provide a ma chine of the character saed with a door whereby access may he had to the interior the machine; to provide in a machine, having; a laterally swinging door, an auxiliary door connected with the firs; named door so arranged as to prevent injury to a person when he 01 she gets caught hetween said door and a moving part; and such furher objects, advantages and capahilities as wil; later more fully appear.

y invention urther resides in the com hination, construction and arrangement of parts illnstrated in the accompanying drawand while have shown therein a pre .scd emhodiment I desire the Same te be enderstood as ilinstrative only and not as miting my invention n the accompanving drawings illustra his invention, Figure 1 is an end view washing machine having a pair 01. oonsrncted in accordance with my nvention;

igure 2 is a fragmentary sectional "iew in show in detail the upper and lower parts oi the door;

Figure 3 is side elevation of the ma chine to show a ace view of one of the doors;

Figure al is a fragmentary plan view of ons side ol a machine comprising my inventon: and

Figure 5 is a horizontal section substantially along the planeindicated by the line 5-5, Figure 3.

Referring more in detail to the annexed drawings, 1 designates the washing machine in its entirety, 2 the oscillating tuh of the machine, and 8 the doors, according to my invention. The machine is snpported upon suitable casters, which are secured to the corner posts 4 of the machine. Connecting adjacen posts 4 are the side pieces 5, which serve to held the posts in position.

The doors 3 are secured to diagonally opposite posts 4 and are hinged at 11 to swing on snbstantially vertical axes, thus providing means whereby access may be readily had to the mechanism housed within the interior of the frame. The edge of a door opposite that on which it Swings is provided with a fasening means 6, adapted to engage a post 4 as shown mostclearly in Figure 5, to held the door in closed position. Rods or bars 7 extend between he posts 4; ac opposite sides of he machine to hold the same in proper relaive position.

Secured. to the upper edge of the main section of the door, as by spring hinges 8, is an anxiliary door 9, which is provided vrith a hoek 10 te engage over the bar 7 and assist in holding the main door, and therewith the auxiliary door, in closed position.

is obvions that if the door were made as a unitary structure and were hinged at ne edge as is the lower porbion, a persons hand, i caught loetween the door and oscillating tub near the hinged edge would have to stand considerable more pressure before the latch 0 the door would yield and allow the same to open than if the persons hand were oaught near that edge upon which the astening means is located. On the other hand, wih the top portion or auxiliary door hin ed upon a horizontal axis and having boih its ends receding from the oscillating nb at the same rae, it wonld make no difference in the amount of pressure necessary to force this anxiliary door away from the tnb whichever end of the door were pressed. It will therefore be seen that the door of my invention is a safety device which reduces i"e.r v materially the likelihood of injury resulting from a person getting caught be- It is, of course,

tween the ub and door. understood hat the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of my invention as set orth in this specification and the appended claims.

Having described my invention:

I claim 1. In a Washing machine, a support, a movable tub thereon, 2, door hinged to the support, an auxiliary member hinged along en edge thereof tothe door and being normally near the tub, and means for normally holding the auxiliary member in closed position near the tub but capable of being swung 'on its hinge by a relatvely small pressure anywhere along the edge opposite that on which it is hinged.

2. In .a washing machine, a support having sicle walls, a movalole tulo thereon, a closure having a lower portion, an upper portion hinged to saicl lower portion ancl adapted to swing'away fromthe tub, and ineens normully holding the hinged upper portion in closed postion, said means being yieldable to permit the hinged upper porton to open outwurdly by pressure between sad tub and upper hinged portion at any point along the free edge of the letter.

3. In a washing machine, a support having sides, an osci.llating tub mounted on the support, a two part closure, one partof said olosure being hinged to one of the sdes, and theotherpart being hinged to saicl one part, means normally holdingsaicl closure in closed position, said other part of the closure being adapted to move outwardly away from the tub when excess pressure is applied thereto, and to normally stand adjacent tl1e tub in the absence of such pressure.

4:. In a washing machine, a frame work,

en oscillating tub thereon, and a door con nected therewith and pivotally mounted to swing outwardly on a substantially horizontal axis, said door being noimally proximate to the end of the tub end being provided with means to holdthe same normally closed but capalole of being swung outwardly from the frame by a comparatvely small pressure at &ny point along its edge oppositethat on which it is pivoted; when en obstruction enteis between the tub and the door.

5. A casing, thereon, said casing extending around the ends of the tub and having end doors com prising main and auxiliary seotions, each main section being hinged to the casingm1d each (uxiliary seotion being hinged to the main section und being normally proximate to an end of the tub when the tub oscillates said auxiliary sections and said casing having n1euns 1"0r normally holding the auxiliary sections inclosed postion, but yielding to permit the ziuxiliary se-ctions to open upon the entryoi obstructions between the ends of the tub and the auxiliary seetions.

6. A rectahgular open top casing,a tub mounted for Oscillaton in the top of said casing, one side of said casing at one end of of two wtnesses.

WILLIAM H. VOSS. Witnesses:

WILLIAM E. PULS, Lonrsn A. BREDFELDT.

en oscillatory tub mounted 

